Notes on Reimagining Traditional Irish Dance: RTÉ Culture

Lïnger is a powerful duet for two male dancers—one in his physical prime, the other (choreographer and performer Breandán de Gallaí) returning to the stage after more than a decade. Blending autobiographical narrative, compelling movement, and emotional honesty, the work explores masculinity, mentorship, memory, and the passage of time.
Born out of the emotionally charged making of de Gallaí’s Rite of Spring, Lïnger reflects on generational echoes, and the sadness and frustration that, despite social progress, a younger gay man might still delay coming out. At its heart is a unique and layered relationship: mentor and protégé, father and son, lovers—or perhaps a single man meeting his younger self across time.
Set against an evocative soundscape and rich visual world, Lïnger rejects the idea that a core human motivation reduce tension (Freud). Instead, it proposes that dwelling in discomfort, in uncertainty, in the liminal—can be a source of vitality and transformation. The result is a dance-theatre work that lingers in the mind long after the final bow—poignant, provocative, and deeply human.